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Mallesons has advised Citi Group on a US$2.7 billion global joint venture with Morgan Stanley, which was completed today. The joint venture merged the two companies’ retail broking businesses in the US, Europe and Australasia to form Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. According to lead Partner, Joshua Cole, these types of deals, involving the coordination of legal teams across a number of jurisdictions, are becoming more common in the current environment. “The GFC has given rise to a number of global transactions which require the crafting of some complex arrangements in very tight timeframes and this one was no exception,” Mr Cole said. “Our team, who worked with a number of New York and international firms, had to co-ordinate the interaction of regulatory regimes across a range of jurisdictions throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. “It was an extremely interesting transaction to work on and despite the complexity and the usual rush to the finish, all aspects of the deal came together really well,” he said. The Australian legal work for Citi was completed by a cross-practice Mallesons team consisting of Partners Joshua Cole, Greg Golding and Andrew Gray from M&A; Simone Menz from Property; Special Counsel Malcolm Brennan for Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) issues and Senior Associate Stuart Courtney from the Tax group. The team advised on the Australian aspects of transferring Citi’s margin lending business into the joint venture and putting in place ongoing arrangements. The team also provided advice on regulatory issues and obtaining Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. Kris Barry, Head of Communications +61 2 9296 3716 or +61 413 644 388. |
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